Dems Doing Just Fine in Early Voting

For all the talk of a Republican "wave election" and an enthusiasm gap, Democrats are pretty pleased with early voting results. Millions have already cast ballots in the 2010 election, and Democrats say their $20 million voter turnout program is bearing fruit; in Iowa, for example, the percentage of Democrats already casting votes exceeds Democratic registration by 12 percentage points or more, the New York Times reports.

“There are states that, if you buy the Republican narrative, they will have this huge advantage,” says one Democratic official. “But the ground reality is not matching that.” But Republicans profess to be just as delighted by the early numbers. They may be trailing in Iowa, but by much smaller margins than they did in 2008, they point out, and the same is true in districts in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, and parts of Pennsylvania. (More Election 2010 stories.)